Si MB, et al. - Comparison of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) vs minimally invasive liver surgery (MIS) in the treatment of small hepatocellular carcinoma (SHCC) was done. in addition, short-term and long-term clinical outcomes were evaluated. Searching PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of science, and CBM, researchers analyzed 6 retrospective studies, including a total of 597 patients (313 treated with RFA and 284 treated with MIS). Outcomes revealed the achievement of higher overall survival, disease-free survival, and lower local recurrences in SHCC patients with MIS. Meanwhile, significantly lower complication rates, shorter operation times, and hospitalization duration were reported in correlation to RFA treatments. In terms of long-term outcomes, MIS vs RFA was identified as superior. However, for patients presenting a single SHCC nodule (≤ 3 cm), RFA may be an alternative therapy in view of its minimally invasive nature and its comparable long-term efficacy with MIS.